1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a submersible pump having a reversible plate having intake openings that allow the pump to be used for pumping both liquids laden with solid particles and clear liquids that are generally free of solid particles depending on the orientation of the plate relative to a base of the pump.
2. Description of the Related Art
A submersible pump for clearing away a liquid laden with solid particles is usually designed for clearing away particles from the volume to be treated. The solid particles to be cleared away may have a generally spherical shape whose diameter may reach 30 mm. To clear them away, the pump is submerged in the volume to be treated. The submerged pump clears away the liquid with the particles that it contains. Such a pump therefore makes it possible also to clear away a clear liquid.
However, after the particles and the liquid have been cleared away by a pump for laden liquid, the depth of residual liquid in the volume to be dried out is relatively large, because the level of the inlet orifice of the pump relative to the floor must be greater than the maximum size of the particles to be cleared away.
Conversely, a submersible pump for clearing away a clear liquid has an inlet orifice submerged closer to the floor than that of a pump for laden liquid, which makes it possible to reduce the depth of residual liquid in the volume to be dried out. However, a pump for clear liquid does not make it possible to clear away solid particles of significant size.
Depending on its structural features, a submersible pump of the prior art is intended either for clearing away, or evacuating, a liquid laden with solid particles, or for the virtually complete clearing, or evacuating, of a clear liquid, but not for both of these uses. The user must therefor choose, at a time of purchase, between these two types of submersible pumps, depending on the desired use.
The chosen pump allows him to achieve only one of the two uses. To achieve both, the user must buy the two different submersible pumps, which increases the expenditure and space requirement necessary for these two pumps.